25 Years of BOLD: 25 Things That Happened 25 Years Ago

Little known fact that will no longer be a little known fact once you complete reading this sentence: KK BOLD turns 25 this year.

Since 25 is one of those numbers that people like to celebrate, they’re letting me write four (FOUR) blog posts on the subject. For our first entry, we are entering ye olde time machine and venturing back all the way to 1989, the year that KK BOLD (then Kranzler Kingsley Communications) entered into a highly anticipatory world. So to acknowledge the date, let’s take a peek back at what was happening in the world at the same time that we were coming into being.

1. The number of Berlin Walls that fell in 1989: 1. Number of walls in KK BOLD offices in 1989: At least 4.

2. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 in Super Bowl XXIII. This would go down for all time as the last time that the words “Super Bowl” and “Cincinnati Bengals” would be used in the same sentence.

3. First release of Microsoft Office. Coincidentally, first reported case of computer thrown out of an office window.

4. One of the George Bushes became President. I want to say the older one.

5. The first episode of The Simpsons debuts on FOX. No idea what happened with that show.

6. Iran issues a FATWA on British writer Salman Rushdie for his book the Satanic Verses. Salman Rushdie is still alive today, so take that, Iran.

8. Number of Internets created in 1989: 1. Number of websites launched in 1989: 0. Number of websites KK BOLD launches in 1989: Also 0. Sorry, not really our fault.

9. “Tank Man,” who stood in front of government tanks at Tiananmen Square in China, remains unidentified to today. Some of us suspect he may have been Wayne Kranzler, but we remain puzzled as to why he would have been in China and also why he was buying groceries.

10. My Left Foot with Daniel Day Lewis is released. 25 years later, production on the sequel My Right Foot remain stalled.

11. Mike Tyson wins the world heavyweight championship from Frank Bruno. Tyson hits Frank Bruno so hard, in fact, that entire world population forgets who Frank Bruno is.

12. The Pixies released their album Dolittle. 25 years later, you are reading this and wondering to yourself who the Pixies are, which makes me very sad.

13. Dead Poet’s Society was released in theaters. Rest in peace, Robin Williams.

14. Nintendo begins selling the Game Boy. If your kids don’t know what a Game Boy is, tell them that it’s an iPad that’s smaller, with buttons, no color and Tetris. So, you know, way better.

15. The Mirage Hotel and Casino opens in Las Vegas as the world’s first huge resort hotel.

16. Billionaire hotel heiress Leona Helmsley is convicted on federal tax fraud charges. And she seemed like such a nice lady.

17. At the Grammys, Record and Song of the Year were presented to Bobby McFerrin for “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” A formal apology has yet to be issued.

18. Topping the charts in 1989 were Fine Young Cannibals, Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, Bon Jovi, Poison, Richard Marx and Roxette. But we still have Justin Beiber and One Direction, so don’t be getting too smug.

19. Famous advertising slogans from 1989:

“Cotton. The fabric of our lives.” – Cotton Incorporated.

“Fahrvergnügen” – Volkswagen.

“It keeps going, and going, and going…” – Energizer Batteries.

“This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” – Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

20. Cost of a Super Bowl ad in 1989: $675,000. Length of time for an ad that $675,000 would buy you in 2014: Roughly 5 seconds.

21. The cost for a postage stamp was 25 cents. So if you could travel back in time 25 years, you’d save yourself $4.80 on a book of stamps. Unfortunately, time travel is currently not a reality.

22. The US Government provides a $150 billion bailout for hundreds of saving and loan associations. So there’s one thing that hasn’t changed.

24. The stealth bomber is revealed to the public for the first time in a Honda advertising campaign. You’re only just hearing about it now because IT WAS JUST THAT STEALTHY.

25. Zubaz. Remember those? Also, friendship bracelets and pogs. The 80s were kind of the worst.

There you have it. 25 things that happened 25 years ago and are making you feel really old right now for remembering them. Keep your eyes peeled for the next in the 25 Years of Bold blog series, and take solace that as many things that happened in 1989, one that didn’t happen was 1989 ever coming back. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie notwithstanding.

Erik Hagen is the senior copywriter for KK BOLD. He had an entire collection of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures in 1989, which he will gladly regale you with in exhausting detail should you ever spend any time with him.

Share the Story

About the Author

Response (1)

I looked up this morning what happened 25 years ago. I came across your blog. I enjoyed it very much however the two things that stick out 25 years ago for me is I got married! And
25 years ago there was a massive earthquake in San Francisco, during the baseball game World Series. A multilayered bridge had collapsed unfortunately squashing many cars with folks in it.